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Buy or sell? Morgan Stanley delivers us a market map to the darlings — and point out roadblocks on the way.

Morgan Stanley deliver us a market map to the darlings — and point out roadblocks on the way.

• Morgan Stanley’s stock picks and flicks
• Resource stocks weigh on ASX
• Sifting through the Aconex rubble
• Ansell breaks the mould with Brit buy
• Future Fund beats 2016 profit target

BusinessNow: live market coverage on Tuesday, January 31. Navitas half-year earnings, CYBG’s guidance, NAB survey of business confidence and the RBA private sector credit figures are all fixtures today. In the US, data on consumer confidence, home prices and wages are released.

Damon Kitney 5.39pm: Fairfax apologises to Wal King

Fairfax Media has agreed to unreservedly apologise to Wal King, after settling a potential multi-million dollar defamation action launched by the former long-serving chief executive of Leighton Holdings over a series of articles alleging his involvement in bribery and corruption activities in Iraq while he was CEO.

Reports in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review in late 2013 implicated the former Leighton boss through a note allegedly written by then Leighton Holdings acting chief executive David Stewart in ­November 2010. Read more.

5.19pm: Tokyo stocks end sharply lower

Tokyo stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday, tracking a global sell-off on worries about Donald Trump’s controversial crackdown on immigration, while a stronger yen hammered exporters.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 1.69 per cent, or 327.51 points, to 19,041.34, while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues shed 1.43 per cent, or 22.10 points, to 1,521.67. AFP

4.32pm: Stocks dip on Yates sacking, close lower

Australian stocks continued to lose ground today, as global investors fret about the prospect of more jarring policy changes from Donald Trump’s new administration.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.7 per cent weaker, at 5620 points, after dropping to within two points of a fresh six-week low. The broader All Ordinaries was down 39.3 points, or 0.69 per cent, at 5,675 points.

In a clear sign of market sensitivity, Donald Trump’s decision to fire Attorney-General Sally Yates saw a 0.3 drop in S&P500 futures, with the Australian market hitting its intraday low, down 1 per cent, on the news before recovering.

Read more here.

4.22pm: Spot gold breaches $US1,200

Gold prices breached the crucial psychological threshold of $US1,200 per troy ounce in Asian trade on Tuesday, amid dollar weakness and rising safe-haven demand over concerns about US President Donald Trump’s policies.

London spot gold prices were trading $US5.92 higher at $US1,201.29 per troy ounce.

“Political risk in the form of elections in France and Holland together with uncertainty around some of Trump’s recent actions, which appears to have elicited more jeers than cheers, such as the immigration ban, have lent short term support to gold,” says an OM Financial report.

Investment inflows into gold exchange-traded funds have picked up with growing uncertainty about how a more isolationist US could affect markets.

Dow Jones newswires

4.15pm: Aussie firms in afternoon trade

The Australian dollar was slightly higher in midafternoon trade Tuesday, as concerns linked to White House policy changes continued to weigh on the US dollar.

At 3.55pm (AEDT), the Australian dollar was at US75.66 cents, compared with US75.52c late on Monday.

US President Donald Trump announced policy changes to tighten immigration rules, prompting local protests and condemnation by some world leaders.

On Friday, Mr Trump signed an executive order temporarily barring some immigrants and refugees from entering the US. The move stoked unease among market players already feeling nervous about the rising threat of trade tensions.

Read more here.

4.00pm: Trump pick in ASX stock probe

US Republican politician Tom Price got a privileged offer to buy an Australian biomedical stock at a discount, the company’s officials said, contrary to his congressional testimony this month.

The man tapped by President Donald Trump to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services testified in his Senate confirmation hearings on January 18 and 24 that the discounted shares he bought in Innate Immunotherapeutics (IIL), an Australian medical biotechnology company, “were available to every single individual that was an investor at the time” — read more.

Dow Jones newswires

3.40pm: How US policy could favour Navitas

Global education provider Navitas (NVT) expects Australia and Canada to benefit from US President Donald Trump’s temporary suspension of the US refugee program and ban on immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries.

Navitas CEO Rod Jones says Australia’s education industry could benefit from students refused entry from the US.

Navitas chief executive Rod Jones says some students seeking entry into the US are now looking to go elsewhere, as demand for education is continuing to grow. “There’s a whole lot of uncertainty in the US at the moment. What that means is probably anybody’s guess, other than students starting to back away from the US because of their concerns about potential issues they may face,” Mr Jones said on Tuesday.

“But saying that, they still want to go somewhere, and I think particularly Canada and Australia are going to be key markets moving forward.” Mr Jones also said European migration issues were affecting the student market in the UK but Navitas was “holding its own” despite tough conditions.

Navitas on Tuesday booked a net profit of $53.3 million in the first half of the financial year, up 18 per cent from a year earlier, propped up by a $14 million gain on its disposal of the Perth Institute of Business and Technology into a joint venture with Edith Cowan University.

AAP

3.17pm: Deutsche Bank cops $830m fine

New York and British authorities have slapped nearly $US630 million ($830m) in fines on German banking giant Deutsche Bank over alleged money laundering in Russia, New York State’s Department of Financial Services announced.

The scheme illegally moved $US10 billion out of Russia, using so-called mirror trades among the bank’s Moscow, London and New York offices, authorities said. The US Justice Department also is investigating the matter — read more.

3.00pm: Origin Energy lifts quarterly production

Increased output from its flagship Queensland gas-export operation helped lift Origin Energy’s quarterly production and sales revenue.

Origin (ORG) said its production in the final three months of 2016 hit 80.1 million petajoules equivalent, a measure of the volume of different petroleum products based on energy content. That marked an 8 per cent rise on the prior quarter and a 47 per cent jump on the same period last year — read more here.

Dow Jones newswires

2.20pm: Morgan Stanley’s stock picks and flicks

Morgan Stanley analysts have quickly bounced back from their recommendation on Sunday to buy Aconex shares just one day before the stock plunged by 45 per cent.

Clearly not dwelling on a rough day, the analysts led by James Bales, John Stavliotis and Wayne Ma have tipped several big-name stocks to either jump or stumble over the next two months. Here’s what they’re saying about them.

Morgan Stanley says BUY:

Mantra Group — (MTR)

Share price to rise in absolute terms over the next 30 days

Overweight — price target $4.75

“Mantra has traded down materially despite a seasonally strong 1H skew and a reiteration of guidance after 4.5 months trading in mid-November.”

Estimated probability of 80 per cent (“highly likely”).

Corporate Travel Management — (CTD)

Share price to rise in absolute terms over the next 30 days

Overweight — price target $20.25

“This is because of an earnings release. We expect a strong result and trading update, given the reiteration of guidance in December.”

Estimated probability of 80 per cent (“highly likely”).

Baby Bunting — (BBN)

Share price will rise relative to the country index over the next 60 days

Overweight — price target $3.30

“We expect a strong H1-FY17 result where the company will secure circa 45 per cent of our full year forecast EBITDA (compared to circa 41 per cent in prior years). We expect the outlook to be positive despite the strong comps in the pcp as the company has built a strong position in NSW and Qld where we expect improvements in brand awareness, and there will continue to be growth from the maturation of the 36 per cent of stores that are less than two years old.”

Estimated probability of 60-70 per cent (“likely”).

Aveo Group — (AOG)

Share price will rise relative to the country index over the next 60 days

Overweight — price target $4

“We expect a strong H1 result and restatement of FY17 and FY18 guidance. In our view this is not reflected by the current share price which implies a PE multiple below the historical average and is only 5.6 per cent above last stated NTA (A$3.00) which does not fully value the newly consolidated RVG assets.”

Estimated probability of 60-70 per cent (or “likely”).

Morgan Stanley says SELL:

Estia Health — (EHE)

Share price will fall relative to the country index over the next 60 days

Underweight — price target $2.10

“Estia has had a difficult start to the year with low occupancy and a shift to DAPs that could potentially put pressure on the balance sheet should the current trend continue. An improvement in operational performance is required in H2-FY17 to meet guidance at the same time as funding changes will put pressure on revenue. We see risk of a poorer than expected H1 result and potentially challenging outlook.”

Estimates probability of 60-70 per cent (or “likely”).

Automotive Holding Group — (AHG)

Share price will fall relative to the country index over the next 60 days

Underweight — price target $3.15

“The logistics business has had a poor start to the year and a strategic review is expected to yield results in the second half, but we see risk to meeting FY17 expectations. While Auto retailing also had a difficult start to the year and new car sales have slowed according to ABS data, we see a risk that organic growth underperforms expectations in the first-half result, to be released in February.”

Estimated probability of 60-70 per cent (or “likely”)

For all their recommendations, Morgan Stanley says “the estimated probabilities are illustrative and assigned subjectively based on our assessment of the likelihood of the scenario.”

Stephen Bartholomeusz 1.50pm: Why US banks have piled on $US187bn

The biggest beneficiaries of the early days of the Trump administration have been the Wall St banks. Now President Donald Trump is promising to do “a big number’’ on the mass of financial regulations that was imposed on them in response to the financial crisis they helped spawn.

Wall St banks have been big winners from expectations of Dodd-Frank regulation repeals.

As has generally been the case with Trump policy announcements post-election, there wasn’t any detail in Trump’s statement, other than his opinion that the Dodd-Frank Act was a ‘’disaster’’ which had made it ‘’almost impossible now to start and small business and its virtually impossible to expand your existing business.’’

That’s despite the growth in commercial lending from $US1.2 trillion to $US2.1 trillion since the legislation was enacted, although the rate of growth in lending to small business has been significantly lower than the overall rate.

Read more here.

1.14pm: Sirtex in halt amid legal threat

Biotech firm Sirtex Medical’s (SRX) shares have been halted from trade due to the threat of legal action alleging the company misled and deceived investors. The liver cancer treatment developer has received a letter from a law firm foreshadowing legal proceedings against Sirtex for alleged breaches of its disclosure obligations, and misleading and deceptive conduct.

The proposed legal action is linked to Sirtex’s statement in August that it would achieve double digit dose sales growth in fiscal 2017 year, a forecast it downgraded in December — read more.

AAP

12.45pm: NAB spin-off CYBG affirms targets

CYBG, the British bank spun off early last year by National Australia Bank, says it is on track to deliver on its financial targets for the 2017 financial year after meeting expectations in the first quarter.

CYBG (CYB), which operates Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank, said it continues to expect its net interest margin will be broadly flat in fiscal 2017, it will see mid-single-digit loan growth and a Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio of between 12 per cent and 13 per cent.

Read more here.

Supratim Adhikari 12.30pm: Global volatility shakes Aconex

Local technology market favourite Aconex has blamed global volatility in the wake of Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House and Brexit for a shock earnings downgrade that sent the company’s share price into a tailspin.

Aconex (ACX), which provides process and project management solutions to the construction industry, has downgraded its fiscal 2017 revenue forecast from a range of $172 million-$180m to $160m-$165m, with the company citing the US presidential election and Brexit as key factors hurting sales in the British and US markets for the first half of fiscal 2017.

Read more here.

12.13pm: Navitas half-year profit lifts 18pc

Education provider Navitas reported an 18 per cent rise in half-year profit, as the cost of closing two colleges in Australia was more than offset by benefits from higher student enrolments at ongoing operations from Asia to North America and profits gained from a joint venture deal.

Navitas (NVT) said net profit totalled $53.3 million in the six months through December, up on $45.1 million a year ago — read more.

Dow Jones newswires

11.55am: Resource stocks weigh on ASX

Major resources stocks — with the noticeable exception of Fortescue — are leading the local market lower as we head into lunch.

Resources are down but Virtus Health sticks out as the worst performer in morning trade, stung 15.9pc.

At just after 11:30am AEDT (as the market absorbs today’s NAB monthly business survey) the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.7 per cent weaker for the session at 5623 points and has now lost 1.6 per cent so far this week.

BHP Billiton has dropped 2.6 per cent, Rio Tinto has lost 1.7 per cent and Woodside Petroleum has given up 1.7 per cent, but Fortescue has bounced back from yesterday’s fall with a 2.7 per cent rise — making it today’s second-best stock behind Bellamy’s Australia.

Today’s worst performer is Virtus Health, which is down a sharp 15.9 per cent after causing investors to worry by mentioning low-cost competition and a volume shortfall in today’s trading update.

Major banks are weaker today, with CBA falling 0.5 per cent, while NAB, ANZ and Westpac all give up 0.9 per cent.

Telstra, meanwhile, was down 1 per cent, CSL lost 0.3 per cent and Macquarie edged 0.1 per cent lower.

11.38am: AMP shares near key technical support

AMP shares are down 2.4 per cent at $4.97, near key technical support, amid a pullback in the S&P/ASX 200.

AMP is testing support from the January low, the uptrend line from the November low, and the 50-day moving average. This is the biggest intraday fall since November 9 and comes amid volume double the 20-day average.

Underperformance today comes after a sector “Underweight” initiation by UBS yesterday. The investment bank said expectations of 10 per cent per annum FUM growth appear “unrealistic” amid a tougher economic backdrop.

“The boost in FUM growth in recent years from equities and bonds masked contracting flows, lower running yields,” the broker said.

It argues says that pension FUM — 80 per cent of Australian wealth managers’ assets — is likely to grow at only 6.3 per cent annually for next three years compared to the 9.4 per cent over past three.

However the short-term fortunes of both the S&P/ASX 200 and AMP shares could depend on whether they hold the January lows.

11.30am: NAB’s concerns on conditions rebound

Business conditions rose from 6 points to 11 points in December, while business confidence remained at 6 points, according to NAB’s monthly business survey.

NAB is concerned strong business conditions in some sectors mask underlying weakness in other areas of the economy.

NAB says the outcome points to a stronger outlook for the economy, but the bank remains cautious given other aspects of the survey that suggest the rebound might prove to be temporary.

“Weakness in retail conditions is particularly concerning, while we are not seeing any real signs in the survey of a convincing recovery in non-mining investment — crucial to both near-term and longer-term growth prospects, although the drag from the mining sector should soon ease,” NAB chief economist Alan Oster says. “While some ‘bounce-back’ from the weather affected Q3 GDP can be expected, a return to a more subdued growth track thereafter still seem likely as the positive effects from the housing construction cycle, commodity exports, and temporarily higher commodity prices washes out.”

Mr Oster notes that stronger business conditions in December largely reflected unexpectedly strong improvements in some industries, while other indicators were generally mixed as well.

“As for business confidence, the stability we have seen for some time now has been welcome, but it does not fully reflect the strength in business conditions,” he adds. “That might suggest that business still has a high degree of concern about global uncertainties in particular”.

NAB continues to expect two more 25bp rate cuts this year in response to ongoing low inflation and a more subdued growth outlook.

Michael Roddan 11.15am: Takeover talk puts QBE into play

A $20 billion bid for Australian insurance giant QBE reportedly being considered by the world’s biggest insurer Allianz has intensified speculation that several global heavyweights are stalking the resurgent local insurer.

A report in the German newspaper Handelsblatt said Allianz chief executive Oliver Baete met with QBE boss John Neal before Christmas and had informally ­offered a deal of $15 a share for the Australian company.

Read more here.

10.45am: Virtus Health stung by profit warning

Virtus Health (VRT) dived as much as 20 per cent to a 16-month low of $4.98.

The sell-off follows a warning from the company that IVF volumes fell down 7.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the first half, which could have a “material” effect on earnings.

VRT shares last down 18 per cent at $5.10, weakest in the top 200.

10.35am: Sifting through the Aconex rubble

Investors are sifting through the Aconex rubble today as analysts sheepishly slice around half off their price targets. The company’s shares plunged 45 per cent yesterday.

Aconex co-founder and CEO Leigh Jasper Source.

Around $614 million was wiped off Aconex’s value as the once market darling was slammed by investors following a significant downgrade to its full year outlook.

Aconex (ACX) had become one of the most shorted stocks on the ASX 200 after a 430 per cent gain over 18 months took it to a peak above $8.75 in July last year. The shares had been peeling off ever since but yesterday’s 45.1 per cent plunge took them all the way back to $3.10 — a level not seen since June 2015.

It was the biggest one-day fall on record — that pretty much goes without saying — in fact the stock’s previous worst day was an 8.5 per cent drop.

It’s a little too late for shareholders… but here’s what major analysts have done to their recommendations on Aconex today.

(Ranked by size of price target cut)

UBS — maintain neutral — lower price target to $3.40 from $8 (-57.5 per cent)

Morgan Stanley — maintain buy — lower price target to $4 from $9.30 (-57 per cent)

Credit Suisse — maintain outperform — lower price target to $3.75 from $6.80 (-44.8 per cent)

Citi — maintain buy — lower price target to $4.95 from $8.69 (-43 per cent)

Deutsche Bank — maintain hold — lower price target to $4.50 from $6.80 (-33.8 per cent)

Macquarie — maintain neutral — lower price target to $3.70 from $5.20 (-28.8 per cent)

10.17am: Fortescue steels production report

Fortescue’s (FMG) 2Q17 production report was strong according to Macquarie.

Shipments of 42.2 million tonnes and C1 cash costs of $US12.54/WMT were in line with their forecast. Realised pricing of $US64.78/DMT — 92 per cent of the benchmark price — was 9 per cent higher than they expected.

“The better than expected realised price should ease concerns over FMG’s forward pricing outlook, which is set off the benchmark price not the lower grade 58 per cent index,” the broker says.

FMG last up 0.3 per cent at $6.50.

10.05am: Iluka expects full-year loss

Iluka Resources will cut 90 jobs amid expectations of a 2016 full-year net loss of between $220 million and $230m as a result of impairments and charges.

The mineral sands miner (ILU), which recently completed a $375m takeover of miner Sierra Rutile Limited, said it will take non-cash impairments of $201m, cut costs and reduce or close a number of exploration activities following a review of its business.

The company’s 2016 revenue fell 13.6 per cent to $708.5m due to lower zircon and ilmenite sales and lower prices.

AAP

Michael Roddan 10.00am: Future Fund beats 2016 profit target

Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, has overcome sharp financial volatility and market uncertainty to beat its target over the 2016 calendar year.

The Peter Costello-chaired fund booked a return of 7.8 per cent over the last 12 months, eclipsing its target return mandate by nearly 2 per cent.

Mr Costello had warned as recently as December that the fund was facing a “formidable” challenge to meet its mandated 4.5 to 5.5 per cent return above inflation as globally low interest rates make easy returns scarce.

Read more here.

9.30am: Brekky Wrap: Trump shrouds markets

Aussie stocks are set to limp into today session after Wall Street felt its worst defeat since the US election in early November, thanks to concerns over uncertainty following President Trump’s new isolationist policies.

Concerns over uncertainty following President Trump’s new isolationist policies loom over markets globally.

Local SPI 200 futures are pointing to a 0.3 per cent fall on the ASX 200 today, while fair value suggests a 0.4 per cent slide is more likely.

A fall today would take the Australian market into negative territory for the year.

Blue chip stocks lost ground yesterday, with Telstra falling 1 per cent, CSL giving up 1.3 per cent, Macquarie falling 1.5 per cent and the big four banks dropping between 0.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent. Fortescue Metals, meanwhile, slipped 2.3 per cent as the price of iron ore remains untouched amid Chinese New Year celebrations.

BHP is heading for a 2 per cent fall today, according to its ADRs.

IG chief strategist Chris Weston says he’ll be watching the 5555 point level today.

“We can factor in the view that the ASX 200 fell far more heavily than the S&P 500 futures did during yesterday’s Asia trade, so US markets have played some catch up here.

“Still, we are coming to a number of important technical levels in the Aussie market and specifically, I would be watching 5555 (the 23 January low) on the SPI futures, and while that some 0.6 per cent away, a break here would be taken badly and lead the ASX 200 (cash market) lower.

“One should question if there is a real catalyst to buy risk today, on the view that investors with cash may sit on the sidelines for now and just see how the political situation evolves.”

Elsewhere, NAB’s business confidence survey will be of central interest when it comes out at 11:30am AEDT today.

9.12am: Ansell breaks the mould in Brit buy

Ansell (ANN) has purchased UK-based rubber glove and googles maker Nitritex for £57 million ($94.2m) as it looks to further expand its offshore footprint.

Ansell branches out from gloves into garments, faces masks and accessories with Nitirex buy.

The glove and condom maker snapped up the business, which also produces sterile and non-sterile garments, face masks and accessories, using “currently available” funds at a multiple of approximately seven times EBITDA on a trailing 12 month basis.

Nitritex has a manufacturing facility in Malaysia but the majority of its sales are in Europe and Ansell says the company “has demonstrated consistent double-digit revenue and earnings growth in past years”.

“As a high-growth, high-margin vertical, Life Sciences is a strategically important business to Ansell,” Ansell CEO and managing director Magnus Nicolin said. “The acquisition of Nitritex offers Ansell a unique opportunity to accelerate growth in this segment by expanding our expertise and product range to better meet the needs of our Life Sciences customers.”

Ansell expects the transaction to be “marginally” EPS accretive in fiscal 2017 and approximately 2 cents earnings per share accretive in fiscal 2018.

The purchase comes as Ansell continues to weigh the sale of its own sexual wellness division, on which it confirmed receiving offers after flagging the potential demerger in August last year.

Ansell shares dropped 1.8 per cent yesterday to $23.70 but made solid ground in 2016, jumping 67 per cent from February’s low.

Analysts remain on the fence about Ansell, with Bloomberg data showing one buy, seven hold and four sell ratings with a consensus price target of $22.81.

8.50am: Broker ratings changes

Sims Metal (SGM) cut to Neutral vs. Buy — Goldman Sachs

Sonic Healthcare (SHL) cut to Neutral vs. Overweight — JPMorgan

Cleanaway (CWY) cut to Hold vs. Add — Morgans Financial

Independence Group (IGO) cut to Neutral vs. Buy — Credit Suisse

Newcrest (NCM) raised to Equalweight vs. Underweight — Morgan Stanley

Perseus Mining (PRU) cut to Neutral vs. Overweight — Macquarie

8.30am: Wall Street hit by Trump policy

US stocks finished sharply lower this morning due to unease over the Trump administration’s controversial crack down on immigration, sinking the Dow below the 20,000-point mark it hit last week.

Analysts said the moves to prohibit people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States and to impose a temporary ban on refugees, risked delaying enactment of tax cuts and other policies that have repeatedly helped lift US stocks to records after the election.

“There’s a chance that some things everyone would like to see accomplished might take longer,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6 per cent to end at 19,971.13, the first time it closed below 20,000 since breaching that psychological level on January 25.

The broadbased S&P 500 also fell 0.6 per cent to 2,280.90, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 0.8 per cent to 5,613.71.

AAP

7.19am: Stocks set to slip at open

The Australian bourse looks set to open lower, following the lead of overseas markets which have fallen sharply after US President Donald Trump’s travel ban. At 6.58am (AEDT) on Tuesday, the share price futures index was down 13 points at 5,590.

In the US, the S&P 500 and the Dow were set for their worst day in more than three months on Monday as investors worried over President Donald Trump’s orders to restrict travel to the United States.

Europe’s major markets were all down around one per cent.

Locally, in economic news on Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia releases the monthly financial aggregates data.

In equities news, Fortescue Metals and Origin Energy are due to release quarterly production reports, while Navitas is expected to release half-year results and CYGB holds its annual general meeting in Melbourne. Citi is expected to publish its earnings season preview.

The benchmark index on the local bourse on Monday fell below 2016’s close of 5,665.8 points.

The local bourse has now surrendered all its gains for the year so far as investors ponder uncertainties around Trump’s immigration policies and exercise caution ahead of company reporting season.

AAP

7.00am: Dollar unchanged against greenback

The Australian dollar is unchanged against its US counterpart but is higher against the euro and the yen.

At 6.35am (AEDT), the Australian dollar was worth US75.49c, unchanged from Monday.

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of trade-weighted peers, dipped about 0.3 per cent to 100.21 in Asian trade, amid heightened political uncertainty spurred by US president Donald Trump’s executive orders.

It also weakened almost 0.7 per cent to 114.31 yen, pulling further away from a one-week high hit on Friday, due especially to President Trump’s travel ban order.

Meanwhile, the euro fell to an 11-day low against the US dollar after the release of German inflation data that was slightly weaker than expected.

AAP

6.50am: Dow dives below 20,000 as Wall Street stumbles

US stocks tumbled Monday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down nearly 200 points in what was shaping up to be its worst day since the election.

All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 fell — broad declines that contrasted with a stock market that has been generally buoyant since election day.

With more than an hour of trade left to go, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 187 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 19,907 points and the S&P 500 was down 1 per cent, putting both indexes on track for their biggest percentage declines since Oct. 11. The Nasdaq Composite was down 1.1 per cent.

Dow Jones Newswires